Health Services

The health of our children is one of our primary concerns. At Friends of Children of MS, Inc., we assist parent in scheduling for physical exams, vision and hearing screenings, as well as developmental and mental health screenings. We promote proper handwashing, oral health care and nutrition.

At our some of our centers, we have completed some fun and exciting projects to assist out Head Start children with learning how to keep the germs away and stay healthy. This project enhanced awareness of the importance of hand washing.

The month of FEBRUARY was deadly for germs and bacteria in our facilities. Enrollees, staff and parents all joined in the effort for increased awareness and of the importance hand washing and sanitation plays in preventing the spread of disease in our facilities. Training was provided to our teaching staff, who in turn trained our enrollees . Parents were also trained on how to teach their children how to wash their hands properly during our monthly empowerment sessions and a song and poster contest was held. High five to those centers that submitted entries (New Hope, EHS Jones, Stateline, Cherry Grove, Tepper, Union, Crossroads, East Jasper, Manuel- Goff, Dekalb, Early Intervention, Bryanr Turner, Divine Chinn Garrett, Queen Olive, Dr. Marvin Hogan, Winson –Dovie Hudson, Riven Oak,) They were all extremely creative.

All entries in the contest was posted in the lobby of the central office building. FCM’ s Board of Directors, Policy Council, our federal program specialist, employees and visitors to the central office were encouraged to vote on their favorite poster. The criterion for the poster contest :Posters should promote the importance hand washing plays in wellness by reducing the number of bacteria on hands. Original idea, approximately 11” x 16”,eye- catching; Keeping in mind the criterion, and after all votes were tallied the top three posters were:

Devine, Chinn, Garrett Head Start Center

Crossroads Head Start Center- 1st Place Winnner

Riven Oak Head Start Center

How To Teach Hand Washing to Preschoolers

Friends of Children of Mississippi, Inc.

Head Start / Early Head Start

How to Teach Hand Washing

“Attention all caregivers, and parents”

Instilling good hygiene at a young age can serve a child throughout a lifetime. Because hand washing is instrumental for removing harmful germs and bacteria, learning to wash hands properly will teach children some basics of personal hygiene. Teach hand washing to preschoolers to ensure they wash thoroughly and wash for long enough. Make the lesson enjoyable so they will carry out proper hand washing techniques every time and reduce the incidence of illness.

Instructions

Things You’ll Need

Soap

Towel

Select a song that appeals to preschool children. If they have just learned a new song or if they have a favorite song, use it. Find a song that the child can sing in approximately 20 seconds.

Talk briefly about germs and how germs can make people sick if they get inside the body. Tell the child that we cannot see germs, but they are everywhere, including our hands. Talk about how washing hands is a way to remove germs from hands and keep them from getting inside the body. Mention the important times to wash hands, including before eating, after using the bathroom and after playing outside.

Show the child/ children how to use warm water and enough soap to create a thick lather all over their hands. Instruct the children to sing the song you selected while they scrub their hands. They must scrub their hands for the entire time they sing the song (at least 20 seconds). Mention scrubbing between fingers and under fingernails also. Smile and laugh, indicating that hand washing is fun and enjoyable.

Demonstrate rinsing the soap from your hands and drying them with a towel.

Invite the child / children to pretend washing their hands if you have a large group. If you have a smaller group and time permits, invite the child/ children to actually wash their hands using these new techniques. While the child / children either pretends to wash their hands or wash their hands with water, have everyone sing the song to ensure they connect singing the song with the time spent scrubbing.

Encourage the child / children to show their new hand washing technique to others and to sing the song each time they wash their hands. This will ensure that the child / children lather their hands for at least 20 seconds, and kill the majority of the germs on their hands.